Community Foundations

Community foundations are grantmaking public charities that are dedicated to improving the lives of people in a defined local geographic area. They bring together the financial resources of individuals, families, and businesses to support effective nonprofits in their communities. Community foundations vary widely in asset size, ranging from less than $100,000 to more than $1.7 billion.

Community foundations play a key role in identifying and solving community problems. In 2017, they gave an estimated $5.48 billion to a variety of nonprofit activities in fields that included the arts and education, health and human services, the environment, and disaster relief. The Community Foundations National Standards Board confirms operational excellence in six key areas—mission, structure, and governance; resource development; stewardship and accountability; grantmaking and community leadership; donor relations; and communications. Foundations that comply with these standards can display the official National Standards Seal. Currently, over 500 community foundations have earned the seal.

More than 900 community foundations operate in urban and rural areas in every state in the United States; currently, approximately 350 are members of the Council on Foundations. The community foundation model also has taken hold around the world. Community foundations have participated in the growth of international giving by U.S. foundations in recent years, with international giving by community foundations more than tripling, from $103 million in 2011 to $315 million in 2015, and community foundations' share of overall international giving by U.S. foundations more than doubling, from 1.4 percent in 2011 to 3.4 percent in 2015.

You can use our Community Foundation Locator to view a list of community foundations in the United States.

Below is everything on our site for community foundations. We highly recommend that you use the navigation or our search feature to find what you're looking for on our site. Please also visit cof.org/community-foundations for curated community foundation content. 

Dollar-a-day giving circle creates new philanthropists in Memphis

“You can do a lot with $1.” A simple but powerful phrase at the heart of GiVE 365, the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis’ dollar-a-day giving circle. Formed in 2010, GiVE 365 unites and informs emerging philanthropists to make a collective impact on Greater Memphis. Members donate $365 a year…

The Austin Giving Pledge: A Call to Action for Our Future

Austin, Texas, is the top spot to be an entrepreneur, make movies, get fit, have a dog, and eat barbeque—but as recently as a decade ago we ranked near the bottom of per capita giving. While other Texas cities, like Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, have a long history of philanthropy,…

Bipartisan House Super-Majority Passes "America Gives More Act"

This afternoon, the United States House of Representatives passed an important legislative package impacting philanthropy, the “America Gives More Act of 2014” (H.R. 4719), with a bipartisan super-majority vote of 277-130. While a sizable number of Democrats voted against the bill because of…

Washington Snapshot - July 17, 2014

Breaking News: House Passes Key Charitable Bill Bill Would Simplify Excise Tax to 1% & Make IRA Rollover Permanent We’re excited to report that this morning, the United States House of Representatives passed an important legislative package impacting philanthropy, the “America Gives More Act of…

Dream-maker: The Foundation for the Mid South helps see the possibilities, secure substantial funding

Lessons Learned Ivye Allen, President of the Foundation for the Mid South offered some advice on how to be better positioned to tap public and private funding to support local community efforts. Here are some of her takeaways: Narrow your focus: With communities, schools or organizations facing…

Bringing the community together in unexpected ways: A successful online giving challenge

In conjunction with our 90th Anniversary, the Connecticut Community Foundation hosted our first online giving challenge, Give Local Greater Waterbury and Litchfield Hills in November 2013. This post is part of the #CF100 Series of blog posts. The Council on Foundations is marking the 100th…

Washington Snapshot - July 11, 2014

Welcome back! We hope all of our readers had a wonderful 4th of July holiday weekend. Coming Soon - Council Advocacy Toolkit As Congress breaks at the end of the month for August recess, we know many of our readers will want to connect with their elected officials as they spend time back in their…

BLOOM Takes Root in Los Angeles to Impact Young Black Men and Boys

For nearly 100 years, the California Community Foundation (CCF) has been defined by the diverse passions of the more than 1,700 donors who share a dream for a better future. CCF’s initiative, Building a Lifetime of Options & Opportunities for Men (BLOOM), exemplifies this passion by addressing…

Columbus Survey Shows Continued Growth in Benchmarks for Community Foundations in 2013

The Council on Foundations and CF Insights today released Guideposts for Growth and Aspirations,the field’s most comprehensive report on U.S. community foundation assets, gifts, and grants. The data were collected from 285 U.S. community foundations, including those representing more than 90…

5 Things You Should Know About the Philanthropy Exchange

When we face a new challenge, one of our first instincts is to reach out to someone for advice. By collaborating, sharing resources, and discussing common challenges, you and your peers multiply your impact and advance the common good. Now the Council on Foundations is offering you a new way to…

Mission investing and lessons learned

Many community foundations are recognizing that impact investing can be a powerful tool in our philanthropic toolbox. Mission investments are investments made by foundations to further their philanthropic goals. Since 2009, the Seattle Foundation has committed $4 million of its unrestricted…

2014 Grantmakers Salary and Benefits Survey

The Council on Foundations' 2014 Grantmakers Salary and Benefits Survey is now closed. The 2014 Salary Tables will be published this fall and the full report will be released in early 2015. The survey collects information on benefits policies and practices, as well as compensation data for 35…

#CF100 Video Contest

In 2014, the Council on Foundations commemorated the 100th anniversary of the world’s first community foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, by highlighting stories that show how community foundations are addressing critical local and regional issues. As part of this initative, the Council sponsored…

5 Things Your Foundation Should Know About the Future of Impact Investing

At the White House last week, foundation executives, including the Council’s President and CEO Vikki Spruill, met with senior Administration officials for a roundtable on the future of impact investing. A complement to charitable giving and foundation grantmaking, impact investing offers a powerful…

Washington Snapshot - June 27, 2014

We want to remind our readers that we will not be publishing Snapshot next week, in light of the Fourth of July holiday. We wish you all a happy Fourth! News from the Hill Republican Lawmakers Slam IRS Over Lost E-mails We told you last week about the fury on Capitol Hill over thousands of e-mails…

Lending a Hand: Southwest Initiative Foundation taps unique micro-financing program to help local entrepreneurs and businesses

Lessons Learned The Southwest Initiative Foundation got interested in becoming a Kiva loan administrator after a staff member learned about the program at a conference. Now two years into the program, Greg Jodzio, Microenterprise specialist at SWIF, offered up some insight into how to get the…
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